Out of the Darkness
by Mockingjay500
Summary: Book 7 from the p.o.v of Gallant Prince.
1. Prologue

I lifted my muzzle from my bed as strange smells drifted into my dreams. Sniffing, I realised that these smells were not isolated to my dreams alone, but to the waking world. Getting to my feet, I walked over to my door and looked out. My world, usually so calm at this time of night, was a blaze of orange. Snorting, I kicked out at my door. I may not know exactly what fire was, but instinct took over and I knew I had to get out. The rest of the horses were awake now, snorting and kicking at their own doors. I was stronger, though, and with one final kick my door gave way. I bolted out, away from the fire. I had to find Ryan. He would get the others out.

"Prince!" Ryan's voice was stunned as he saw me. He was a good lad though, and knew immediately that something was wrong. "Ssh boy, what is it?"  
>I snorted frantically, nodding my head in the direction of the stalls. He looked up and saw, with his own eyes, the bright flames which were spreading quickly. He seemed transfixed for a moment, then I stamped my hoof and he came to his senses, springing to his feet and rushing over to the blazing fire…<p> 


	2. Chapter 1

I blinked as I was led out of the dark box. A small sea of people I did not recognise stood before me. Watching. I couldn't bear standing so close to _him_,but I was too tired to protest. It must have been some sort of sedative they gave me earlier, God knows they needed it to do anything with me these days.

I put what little energy I had into looking around the new place. The closest person to me was a young girl with long brown hair. She looked shocked when she saw me, then turned quickly to say something to Luke Norton, my trainer. He responded, and as he did so _he_ started to lead me out. The girl exchanged a quick glance with a man, just a few years older than herself, then she stepped forwards, gently touching my face and whispering my name. I just looked at her, somehow finding the energy to step backwards. _He_ steadied me. Normally I would have resisted, but right now I couldn't fight him. The girl looked at _him_, asking him something which I did not listen to. _His_ answer caught my attention though, or rather just one word of it. _Ryan_. At the sound of my former stable lad's name my ears twitched forwards slightly, however the people around did not seem to notice, continuing in their short conversation. Moments later, a gentle tug on the lead rein asked me to walk on and I kept my head low as I followed the humans, hating that they had momentarily taken away my will to resist. I was taken into a barn and let loose in a stall. I let out a gentle snort and walked over to my hay net, merely nosing at it, occasionally taking a small tug and chewing. I vaguely heard some horses further down the barn whicker excitedly, clearly curious about my arrival. I flicked an uninterested ear in their direction and shifted my weight off of my injured leg. The humans were still talking, although I paid no attention to their conversation. In time they left me alone. I liked that.

A while later the girl returned, accompanied by a man who had not been around at my arrival. He let out a whistle as he saw me then entered my stall, gently running his hands down my legs. I shifted slightly, but the man's touch was not rough and so I was not too bothered. He turned to the girl and asked her something, she nodded and uttered a response before walking in and slipping my halter on. They led me out onto the yard and the girl walked me around whilst the man stood back, observing. After a few laps of the yard he nodded and said something to the girl, then walked over to me and lifted my eyelid. I was unsure what he was doing, but I was still under the effects of the sedative and so did not protest. They exchanged more words before the man walked off. The girl looked at me, gently stroking my neck.  
>"Come on boy" she murmured, before leading me back to the stall.<p>

For the rest of the day I was mainly left alone, however the girl and the young man she had exchanged looks with earlier regularly came past to check on me. The sedative was finally wearing off, and as it did so I became restless, even more so as dusk came. The pair exchanged brief words as they watched me walk around my stall, then disappeared again. Moments later, the rain started to fall, drumming rhythmically on the barn roof. The girl had just come into view, a feed bucket in hand, when there was a sudden clap of thunder, plunging the barn into darkness. I let out a frantic whinny, my eyes rolling as I reared up. As I crashed down, my forelegs slammed into the stall door. Once more I reared, releasing a high-pitched whinny of fear before slamming down into the door once more.


End file.
